I spotted three of my most favorite things in this video:

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Easter, a day of resurrection and renewal. The Church has grown when threatened with persecution thousands of years ago, and, as it turns out, it is still. From the Joshua Fund Blog: Minor Details film

:

THE BIG (UNTOLD) STORY IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Muslims converting to faith in Jesus Christ in record numbers — 2008 Update
“I will build my church,” Jesus said, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)

Despite unprecedented press coverage of Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East since September 11, 2001, one big story is not being told by the mainstream media. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims are converting to evangelical Christianity and will be celebrating their first Easter this year, even amidst widespread persecution and the very real threat of death.

I first began reporting this story in 2005 after interviewing some three dozen Arab and Iranian pastors and evangelical Christian leaders in the U.S. and the Middle East. Over the last three years, however, I have had the privilege of traveling to Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, the West Bank, Turkey, and Morocco. What’s more, I have had the honor of meeting with and interviewing more than 200 Arab, Iranian, Kurdish, Sudanese and other pastors and Christian leaders. With more data, the trend lines are becoming even more clear and the story is even more exciting.

The God of the Bible is moving powerfully in the Middle East to draw men, women and children to His heart and adopt them into His family in record numbers. More Muslims have come to faith in Jesus Christ over the last thirty years — and specifically over the last seven to ten years — than at any other time in human history. There is a revival going on among the ancient Catholic, Coptic, and Chaldean churches. Today, the Church is being truly resurrected in the lands of its birth.

Consider the latest evidence:
[…]

And then the article goes on to list specifics from Afghanisatn to Iraq, to Sudan and other countries in the Islamic sphere.

And then the leading Saudi cleric had this to say:

[…]
In December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad al Qataani, a leading Saudi cleric, appeared on a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that, sure enough, Muslims were turning to Jesus in alarming numbers. “In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity,” Al Qataani warned. “Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity.” Stunned, the interviewer interrupted the cleric. “Hold on! Let me clarify. Do we have six million converting from Islam to Christianity?” Al Qataani repeated his assertion. “Every year,” the cleric confirmed, adding, “a tragedy has happened.”
[…]

Analysis: That means 1.3B minus 36M…and counting.

Pray for the converts they will need all the support they can get.

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Here it comes from the National Heroes Tour:

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BZ SSGT Bellavia, US Army.

Thanks for putting it into words we can grasp. Update 3/22/2008: Better yet, this man isn’t just a writer, he’s a bad ass. He’s a real, 100% certified, no holds barred man of courage, honor and guts. Think John Wayne, but not just on a Hollywood set, but in house fighting in Fallujah. SSG Bellavia has been nominated for the Medal of Honor for his actions there. Here’s the story. And just when will we see the movie out of Hollywood? Not for a long time, but it happened just the same.

Blatantly lifted from the full post on Black Five.

or…maybe better titled “Fallout of Technology Tuesday.”

From Engadget:

Compulsive e-mailing, texting could be classified as bona fide illness

Posted Mar 17th 2008 8:11PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds
Considering the plethora of facilities that have opened just in the past few years to deal solely with individuals that have become undoubtedly addicted to video games, the internet and all things Hello Kitty (we jest, we jest), we’re not surprised one iota to hear that uncontrollably texting / e-mailing could soon become “classified as an official brain illness.”
[…]

Watch your usage….before your freinds and family show up for an “intervention.”

Via SteelJaw Scribe, ABC is looking for a current conflict veteran and family to help out. How about pitch in and pass the word, or, if you know that someone with Iraq/Afghanistan/Arabian Gulf service, then fill out the application.

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Deadline: March 13th!!!!

Get the word out!

the gCaptain site is hosting a wiki feature for maritime/nautical issues.

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Should become a good source for information, but…don’t hold back if you can add something to the collective knowledge base!

Here’s the open post…link ’em up!

In the meantime, today’s “sea story” isn’t directly about the sea, but rather things I learned while in the profession of being at sea.

Now, I take you into the “wayback machine” and send you three years of blogtime into the past for “The Value of the Military Skill Set – Part II.”

Comments appreciated. Fell free to travel about the links in that post to the other in that many-parted serial post.

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Beginning a new adventure tomorrow AM. Not sure how much posting will get done for at least a few days, while I get the “sea legs” in the new environs.

But…for those who read this: If you’re not registered at Little Green Footballs, I’d recommend you get over there and do so (Charles opens and closes the function to sign up periodically). Why? The “Spin Off Link” function that has shown up in the last few weeks. To any post, registered users can add a spin off link to the list. Doesn’t have to relate, but it can.

The “value added?” When you see a great MilBlog or troop support story, or the real gouge from the front on a website, you can slap it up there for the world to peruse. I try to grab some “best of” from my rounds and get them billing there. LGF is way past Capt Lex’s million hits, to the exposure is most excellent.  Come on, lets push the great stories out there!

More later. If the “regularly scheduled” posts are missing, come back later. Work hours will be late AM to mid evening…

Bonus tip: Drew Carey has his own libertarian leaning web site. Check out his “Living Large” videos, where they go out to find the shrinking “middle class” the news keeps reading the obits for.

What a testimony to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines!

From Yahoo! News today:

Iraqi to return home, as a U.S. soldier

By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press Writer Sat Feb 23, 7:53 AM ET

LEWISTON, Maine – Safaa Wadi moved to this former mill city after his life was threatened in his native Iraq while serving as an interpreter for the U.S. Army. He expects to soon head back to Iraq — not as a civilian interpreter, but as a U.S. soldier.
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Wadi arrived in the United States in September with a special immigrant visa for Iraqi and Afghan interpreters. But with his savings nearly depleted and unable to land a decent job, Wadi enlisted in the Army. He begins training in South Carolina on Monday.

Wadi isn’t worried about returning to Iraq, where many of his countrymen considered him a traitor because he worked with American forces. His allegiance is now to the United States, he says.

“I want to serve this country because this country returned to me my life,” Wadi said. “If I had stayed in Iraq, I’d be dead now.”
[…]

If Barack can use the words of one Army captain (who I suspect has a name like “CAPT Jesse MacBeth”, for the record) to impunge the Office of the President (hey, BHO….”it will happen to you, it will happen to me, it will happen to everyone eventually…” as the song goes (not my words, but I’m not sure who did it)), then I will use one Iraqi to proclaim our success in the overall OIF campaign, fair enough?

We in the western world have spent our lives, blessed with freedoms unheard of in many parts of the world, even today. In reading this article, I noted the several jobs this man applied to have. Isn’t it interesting what “set” of information that would have given him, especially when coupled with his statements about “aggressive use” of an airplane. Intimate working knowledge of the air traffic control system (operational timing issues would be important, as well as the “normal” communications procedures) and baggage handling (just exactly how are bags screened in for loading int he cargo holds and where there may be “penetration points”). Most of us would find a job in a professional field to compliment our already working knowledge, with hopes of gleaning more info in order to ask for, and expect, a greater payment for our understanding.

Anyhow, here’s the link to “Accused terrorist may have been planning airline attack: CSIS”

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from the Canadian Press. Get these parts:

OTTAWA – A Montreal man accused of terrorist ties displayed secretive and violent behaviour and once discussed comandeering a commercial aircraft for “aggressive ends,” Canada’s spy service alleges.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service accusations against Morocco-born Adil Charkaoui came late Friday as the federal government renewed its efforts to deport five Muslim men with alleged terrorist links.

Ottawa filed updated national security certificates against the five – including some pointed fresh assertions – following recent passage of new legislation.
[…]

Now, isn’t that interesting? Canada has passed legislation to deport those with known terrorist connections? They are a step ahead of us, who won’t even mention the word “deport” anymore for fear of a massive demonstration on our front lawn…Let’s pray, for once, an idea from Canada, is imported to the US.

Now onto the salient points of the article:

[…]
Charkaoui, a landed immigrant from Morocco, was arrested in Montreal in May 2003, accused of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent prepared to wage terror attacks against western targets.

He denies the allegations.

CSIS claims convicted terrorist Ahmed Ressam has identified Charkaoui as being present at an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan.

The newly filed documents say that in November 2001, Charkaoui described the war in Afghanistan as a battle against Islam “led by the wicked and the Crusaders.”

In June 2000, Charkaoui allegedly had a conversation with two others about their apparent desire to take control of a commercial plane for aggressive purposes.

The CSIS papers say he once applied to work in the air traffic control operations at Air Canada and, later, had an interest in working in the baggage section of Mirabel airport.

The spy service suggests the job search, taken in connection with the earlier conversation, may have been part of the “planning of an attack.”

The documents allege Charkaoui has shown violent and impulsive behaviour, once beating up a delivery man. And they say in 1999 he discussed car theft, namely that he had contacts in Morocco interested in luxury vehicles.
[…]

There you have it. Bad actor in general, connection to bad guys, and…the triple play: Wants jobs to get him “briefed in” to how things work around airliners.

As I type, the question that comes to mind is: Why deport him? Answer, I’m sure, is “we don’t have anything he acted on.” How many years before we read his name in connection with something not good?

A few moments ago, I heard a radio commentator say Chuck Colson recently said, while discussing the current state of the religious conflict world wide, that most Muslims understand their own religion and Christianity better than Christians understand their own, and the dangerous part is they are willing to die for it.

I’d like to respectfully disagree with Chuck Colson: They are willing to kill for it. That is an entirely different mental posture in place. It is offensive by it’s very definition, and I’m not including the emotionally over done emotional use of the term “offensive.” Military units and businesses go on the offensive in order to take from their competitors. Christianity, by it’s nature, is defensive, as are most other religious disciplines. Islam seeks to not just take hearts and minds, but the land beneath your feet, and all that you have worked for in your life, and then, if you resist, they will take your life. Mohammad himself did it. Jesus, Buddha, and the rest did nothing of the sort, instead they gave. And, specifically in the case of Jesus, he laid his life down for others, but did not take lives in doing so. Islam teaches and preaches the taking of life. Some who may say “well, not all Muslims are like that!” I agree. I’d also suggest there are many Christians who would deny their faith and try to avoid the “label” so as to not have to die. The fail safe in Christianity is that the zealot or the barely believing one isn’t going to try to take a life. In Islam, the zealot is going to try to take life, along with their own, but the marginally believing one will shy away from causing any harm.

In article such as the one from the Canadian Press, we see one more, all too frequent scenario where people with connections to the radical elements of the religion (that’s rapidly becoming a mis-categorization in my mind, but that’s an entire other post) are, or, as with the 9/11 19, did, seek “jobs” that allowed them the knowledge to take many lives, and not to better their financial lot in life.

This is a good segway into an article by Linda Kimball in the American Thinker: The Materialism of Communism, Socialism and Liberalism.”

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It takes the discussion further, mostly in the vein as to why this is occurring. I especially enjoyed this quote:

“There is a madness in today’s liberal thinking. It insists on policies that tie our hands to defend ourselves while given free reign to the jihadists intent on killing us. It is dangerous because it is becoming the law, and thinking of the land in the western world. (Liberal Madness is Deadly (1/24/08))

Oh, and have a great day…